1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an EL display for performing display by driving EL (electro-luminescence) elements for emission of light.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional circuits for driving EL elements for emission of light include the one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open No. Hei 5-333815. This circuit has an EL display panel on which a plurality of scan electrodes and a plurality of data electrodes are arranged in a matrix and EL elements formed in positions where the scan electrodes and data electrodes intersect with each other. Scan driver ICs sequentially apply a scan signal to the plurality of scan electrodes and data driver ICs apply a data signal to the data electrodes to selectively cause the plurality of EL elements to emit light responsive to the scan signal and data signal.
In the above-described configuration, the scan driver ICs have FETs at their output stages, and charge and discharge currents are supplied to the scan electrodes through the FETs to charge and discharge the EL elements, which results in the application of the scan signal to the scan electrodes. When the scan signal is applied, a problem arises in that the scan driver ICs are significantly affected by generation of heat because the values of the charge and discharge currents are very high. Further, since a rush current flows at the time of charge and discharge, a problem arises in that the scan driver ICs are damaged when the rush current exceeds an allowable current of the scan driver ICs.
Although resistors may be inserted in the circuits for charge and discharge in order to eliminate such problems, this increases the time constant of the charging and discharging, resulting in the problem of an increase in charging and discharging time.